Odell Village -June 2013

Help! We need your HELP to make the Fete and Dog show a great success. We need people to man stalls and side shows, run the raffle and sell tickets. We can always find a job for willing volunteers. This is a fun day and a great village event to which people come from all over to enjoy a family day out in our lovely village and surrounding North Bedfordshire countryside; BUT we do need your help.

We also ask for your help with setting up the Fete on the afternoon or evening of Friday, 7^th June. If you can manage to come anytime between 2.00 and 7.30pm to lend a hand, you will be most welcome. We shall need to collect tents, tables, chairs and stall signs and set up the field for the big day. We need muscle, a good sense of humour, wheels and trailers and tea and cake will be provided.

Programme of Events

Attractions

Be as inventive as you like - please bring 3 cupcakes on a plate plus a small card with your name, age/over 18, and telephone number. If you do not wish your cakes to be sold afterwards please mark your card with a red star.

Also: watch out for Mandy's vintage stall .... items of bric-a-brac, decorative buttons, lace, etc. and nearly new clothing welcome. Please bring along on the morning of the Fete, before 11.30am.

The service will be followed by a BBQ and children’s games. Bring your own plates, cutlery, drink etc. and a salad to share with others. Please let Mandy 720414 or Jane 01933 410959 know if you are coming and what salad you can provide, so we know how many to cook for.

Thank you to everyone who helped at the fete preparation day, at Doreen and Jim’s on Bank holiday Monday, and a special thank you to Doreen and Jim who once again hosted the occasion. For once the bank holiday weather was superb for the BBQ.

Now is the time to reveal your hidden talents! If you would like to exhibit your paintings or photographs, please contact Catherine Corkery for an application form. Tel: 01234 720348 e-mail: catherinelcorkery@yahoo.co.uk. (fees waived for artwork by children under 16) Proceeds in aid of Church funds, and in support of our link missionaries, Dick and Caroline Seed in Kenya.

Happy Birthday to Mia Vyvyan who will be 12 on the 2^nd June And to Eleanor Robinson whose birthday is on 17th and to anyone who has a birthday in June

I do not usually revisit the scene of my recent articles but I received so much interest in my piece on Richard III, I thought you might like to have an update.

When I last wrote, the question of Richard’s final resting place seemed to lie between Westminster, Leicester Cathedral and York Minster. The idea of Westminster now seems to have been dropped but there remains a hot dispute as to whether he should be interred at Leicester Cathedral or York Minster. However, the likelihood is that the remains of Richard III will be laid to rest at Leicester.

According to time-honoured tradition when a body is disturbed it is re-interred in the nearest holy ground and Richard has been lying in the shadow of Leicester Cathedral for the past 500 years. The archaeologists attached to Leicester University, responsible for locating Richard in the first place, also favour Leicester Cathedral and the Cathedral has made plans for a simple but dignified service before laying Richard to rest in the Chancel beneath a plain, flat slab with an inscription and possibly a decorative border.

Ranged on the other side are the supporters of the Richard III Society together with a few of Richard’s descendants, who favour a much grander service together with a raised tomb. They are horrified at the humble plans being laid on by Leicester Cathedral. As a group they always did prefer York Minster because of Richard’s close association with the City and his own stated preference to be buried there. They have plans for a raised tomb embellished with all of Richard’s armorials. However, it looks as though they will be disappointed.

So delighted are the archaeologists and historians over the public enthusiasm and interest in the discovery of Richard’s last resting place that they are discussing the possibilities of going in search of other missing monarchs!

Another team of archaeologists think they may have stumbled across the location of the site where Alfred the Great was buried. They have located some skeletal remains in the churchyard of St. Bartholomew’s in the Hyde district of Winchester, which has long been reputed, in ancient documents, as the last burial site of Alfred. Whether or not these are the bones of Alfred remains to be seen and it may be very difficult to prove. Unlike Richard the skeleton will be over 1000 years old and there is a lack of genetic evidence to prove identity one way or the other. It is known that Alfred’s body was moved on several occasions, the last occasion being in 1110 to Hyde Abbey. If the bones are the right age (10th c.) they may be able to prove the bones belong to a family member of Alfred, anything more specific than this seems doubtful.

Historians agree that Alfred, who died in 899, after a reign of 28 years, had a great impact on the Britain of today. Alfred did a lot to create England as a nation (he had a lot of trouble with the Vikings) trying to safeguard the burgeoning English language and the Christian faith.

Our archaeologists have also got their eye on another likely monarch. None other than that feisty lady who so upset the Romans. Yes, that’s the one, none other than Boudicea. If there is going to be trouble identifying Alfred, just think of the problems surrounding proof of identity for Boudicea. I think most of us know the story of Boudicea and her rebellion against the Roman invaders.

Boudicea raised her rebellion in AD60 and cut a swathe across the Midlands in an area now recognised as Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Cambs. and Herts. She even put a torch to London itself. If anyone knew how to embarrass the Romans it was Boudicea and although her star shone for a very brief period she has been remembered right through history. Of course, the Romans could not let her get away with it and she finally had to face defeat.

Nobody really knows if she was killed in that last battle or whether she took poison in preference to being taken a prisoner. What is known is that her followers carried her body away from the battle scene and nothing was ever heard of her again. However, where is she buried? There is a rumour that she lies beneath Platform 8 at Kings Cross Railway Station, whilst in 2006 Birmingham archaeologists claimed to have found her grave in Kings Norton – under another car park!

May 14th was the WI AGM. I had had a pretty fractious day and I went to the village hall very reluctantly. The AGM was handled swiftly and efficiently. We then discussed this year’s resolution which deals with our dying high streets and what can we do to save them.

I had been admiring a very fine basket of flowers on the top table. (I later discovered that these had been arranged by Nicki Freeman). I was totally taken aback when they were presented to me for my 70th birthday, (there is no point in being coy about my age, as I think everybody now knows!!) I was then told to look behind me and all these people were swarming in. As if by magic, tables appeared with a magnificent spread of food including a splendid birthday cake. Then the corks started popping and some bubbly appeared.

Brian Cheadle had been to Kempston to bring my sister and Richard Hall brought Jim in with his wheelchair festooned with balloons.

It is an understatement to say that I was overwhelmed. I had absolutely no idea the WI ladies could be so furtive!

I would like to thank Lynette Hall for masterminding the whole operation and to all the WI ladies who had a hand in the preparations. Thanks to everybody for taking such trouble with the food and and all the little details. And a very big thank you to everyone that came and made it such a memorable evening.

Earlier in the evening in her Annual Report, Lynette had said that Odell WI is much more about friendship than being in the WI. I have always felt this and it was certainly demonstrated on Tuesday evening. I also feel this sums up our village. We are very fortunate to live in a place where people are so caring.

A belated welcome to Roger and Claire Shearsby who moved into Odell at the beginning of the year. Here they are pictured with their sons Matthew and Darren, and daughter Emma, along with their families.

Come and support our Village Hall by booking Tickets for the Fundraising Ball on June 22nd.—for more details see below

Much Ado revolves around two couples: Hero ard Claudio are young, in love and looking forward to their wedding day; Beatrice and Benedick are not so young and not so “in love”- they look forward to sparring and scoring verbal points at the other’s expense! Throw in a dastardly villain, some covert match making and a host of colourful comedy characters and you have everything you need for Shakespeare in the Garden, by the lake or even on a Bedfringe stage!! Bring a picnic and enjoy this Great British tradition.

Director Elizabeth Thomas told us "We are so looking forward to this season, we have some fantastic new venues on board, some of which are not often open to the public, so we hope Bedfordshire audiences will be tempted to come along and see for themselves why we have chosen them." The majority of the cast are based in Bedfordshire including Cally Lawrence who takes on the role of feisty Beatrice. She explains "Beatrice is one of those roles that has always been on my wish list to play, so it's brilliant that I get to do it in my home county with fantastic local actors". Cally was last seen on our screens with David Mitchell and Robert Webb on Peep Show, but she has also been a blind date to Ricky Gervais in The Office and a cell mate to Tracey Barlow in Coronation Street.

The production can be seen at the following venues. Doors will open one hour before curtain up and audiences are advised to bring low back chairs or rugs to sit on, and to be prepared for all weathers!

Hinwick House: an elegant country home set in the idyllic and picturesque North Bedfordshire countryside. 28^th & 29 June, 7pm

Stanwick Lakes: Beautiful lakeside setting with a grass amphitheatre just over the border in Northants 21^st July, 2pm & 7pm

Harpur Square: In partnership with Bedford Corn Exchange we will be performing on the outdoor stage as part of Bedfringe 2013 25^th July ,7.30pm

Tickets are on sale now at Ł12 & Ł10 from www.nolossproductions.co.uk . Please note that 25th July Bedfringe at Harpur Square has a separate box office www.bedfordcornexchange.co.uk

The recent Family BBQ took place despite poor weather conditions - a golf brolly providing protection for the chef and BBQ itself. Those attending enjoyed their food in the warmth and shelter of the Village Hall.

Please do make every effort to support these Village Hall events. There has been a marked drop in the number of people attending over the past 12 months. Without your support there is a risk that we shall lose this heart of the community. If you are new to the village you will be made very welcome at all village events – come along, join in, you don’t need to drive and you should have a really great time!

The tree stump will be removed as part of the HOCP maintenance programme. Some of the bark retaining boards are loose and will be repaired shortly.

The Yelnow Lane BOAT remains closed due to poor ground conditions; however, White Lane BOAT has now been opened.

The bridleway past Grange Farm/airfield/Dungee Road has become very overgrown, BBC have advised that it will be cut back under this year’s maintenance programme.

Significant erosion of the river bank adjacent to the footpath leading to the bridge has been reported to BBC who have confirmed that it is being monitored but no plans in place to address this due to cost and access. Parish Council is not satisfied with this response and will raise directly with the Environment Agency.

Erosion on the Felmersham side of the bridge behind the retaining wall will be backfilled shortly.

A couple of willows have been pollarded to prevent them becoming uprooted and toppling into the river.

Some patching of potholes in the centre of the village has been carried out by BBC, however, the large potholes at the Little Odell T-junction are outstanding but due to be repaired over the coming weeks. If you notice any new footpath and highway defects please report them directly to Highways help desk – the more people who report a fault, the more likely it is to get attention and bumped up the list of priorities.

The old BT red phone box in the High Street has been decommissioned and will shortly be painted in advance of the installation of the Community Heartbeat defibrillator mid June.

There is a list of useful contact numbers published on the Parish website and on the notice board to assist residents wishing to raise complaints with BBC and other bodies.

13/00868/FUL (200 High Street) conversion of garage to habitable room, one and two storey side extension and alterations to vehicular access.

13/00663/FUL – Middle Farm Back Lane Souldrop 77 metre mast +associated infrastructure and access track

The weather is finally going more in the right direction and we’ve had a record breaking May Day Bank Holiday. So much so that it was a job accommodating all the cars in the middle of the day! It’s a joy to see all the summer flowers coming through and butterflies once again flitting through the trees. It must be summer if Romano the ice cream vendor is back in his lay-by.

At the beginning of May, the grazier introduced the latest herd of steers into the river meadow to eat the grass through the summer into autumn. This is a traditional method of managing the meadows and they help to keep the area open and free of scrub and weeds. During the first few weeks they can be skittish until they get used to their new surroundings. We would therefore ask that people do not approach them and keep dogs well away.

Harrold Fire Brigade recently used the park to train their fire fighters in the art of rescuing casualties stuck in the mud. The area they chose next to the river proved to be an excellent venue with more than enough mud to go round. In the past they have used the lake to perform mock boat rescues. Let’s hope they don’t have to come out for real!

Richard is looking forward to a more productive season when it comes to the park’s beehives. The foul weather we had last year meant that there was too little honey to harvest. The bees needed it themselves to sustain the colony.. If we get a better season this year, we might get to sample true Harrold honey at the end of the summer.

We want to say a massive thank you to Claire Simpson from Harrold and Lesley Pritchard from Carlton who organised an indoor car boot sale and raffle on April 21^st. Their event raised a total of Ł680.00 which they split evenly between Harrold and Carlton Football Club and the Friends of Harrold Odell Country Park. We will be using the money to help fund some power tool training for our key conservation volunteers. Thank you as well to everyone who supported this event.

If you’re familiar with the wildlife sightings board outside the entrance to Tea-Zels Café you’ll see that it’s absolutely packed with records of all different kinds. The park is becoming an increasingly important oasis for nature. We saw the first Swallows and Martins on April 13^th and Richard recorded a rare Cetti’s (pronounced Chetti’s) Warbler on the 18^th. In addition we had a Grass Snake on April 14^th and the first Cuckoo on the 24^th. We will continue to update the board as the season progresses.

Related to this, we have finalised the content of the bird identification boards due to be installed in the new bird hide. These have been paid for out of the parking donations administered by the Friends of the park. This will enable visitors to identify the main birds they’re likely to see around the park.

Once again we are hosting a lot of school visits looking to study a variety of nature topics. Coming out into the countryside is fun and a good way of learning about and experiencing the natural world. In this age of technology our children (and adults too) are becoming divorced from the environment. When I am teaching I am constantly shocked that people do not know the names of even the most common birds or flowers. It is a worry that the countryside will not be valued in the future if we do not learn how to protect it now.

For general visitors too there are resources available to download from the website run by the Friends of the park. Please log on to www.hocp.co.uk for more information.

This coming autumn we will be looking at carrying out some much needed tree work on the island in the middle of Grebe Lake. The Willows over there are beginning to snap off and fall into the water. We also need to change the availability of nesting sites for the Cormorants as the population has become too great and they are taking too many fish from the lakes and river. Not only is this bad for the park’s anglers but they are out-competing other fish-eating birds like Herons, Grebes and Kingfishers. Also, we mustn’t forget carnivorous fish like Pike, Chub and Perch and the Otters that use the park from time to time. The Cormorants are taking out whole generations of baby fish which means as the old fish die off there is nothing taking their place as a new generation. By sorting out the trees, we hope these birds will move on elsewhere.

The new angling season begins on June 16^th. Those of you who are interested in purchasing a season ticket please look on the website www.hocp.co.uk for info or call in to see Trevor Smith, the Bailiff in the workshop at the rear of the café. We regret we can only deal in cash when it comes to permit sales.

Health Walks: We meet at the café entrance every other Thursday at 10.30am and walk for about an hour to improve your health and wellbeing. Leader Janet Munro. For more information please e-mail janet.munro@bedford.gov.uk or call 01234 720016.

Friends Conservation Task Days: These are held on the last Monday of the month (a week earlier if a Bank Holiday). Meet in the Ranger’s office at 10am for tea and work as much or as little as you wish. Bring appropriate clothing, footwear and a packed lunch and we’ll provide tools and refreshments. Leader Richard Dowsett e-mail: Richard.dowsett@bedford.gov.uk or tel. 01234 720016.

Led by Kelly Robinson of Bedfordshire Bat Group. Meet in the main car park at 20.55 on Thursday 18^th July. Due to the limited availability of bat detectors places are limited to a max of 20 therefore booking is essential. Please e-mail janet.munro@bedford.gov.uk Janet Munro Ranger

Sharnbrook Mill Youth are delighted to announce they will be performing:

Blood Brothers by Willy Russell

‘Hilarious and heartbreaking'

So did you ever hear the tale of the Johnson twins?’

Blood Brothers is the story of Micky and Edward; two brothers separated at birth and divided by their social backgrounds, who are brought together again by fate and friendship. Despite the desperate attempts by their guardians to keep them apart and their identities concealed, events conspire to bring them together with tragic consequences.
TICKETS: (Thurs. 20^th Ł6, Fri/Sat. 21^st/ 22^nd Students Ł6 Adults Ł8) will be on sale from 15^th MAY at:

*NB this has moved to *Tourist Information Centre in St Paul’s Sq. (NB new phone number)

2 wheelchair spaces, easier access seating Rows A – C: hearing loop Rows A – E.

Events in aid of Sharnbrook Mill Theatre 70^th Anniversary appeal for a Green Energy based heating and ventilation system.

SELLERS – (strictly no Traders) from 8.00 am; Car Ł7, car + trailer/van Ł10; please contact asap! - Ian/Sandy: 01933 664 718

Please send all entries for the joint July/August 2013 magazine to Tricia Hudson (ed at odellbeds.net) or Catherine Corkery by June 12^th at the latest. May we remind you that the editorial team exercises the right to edit, shorten or alter any items that are submitted. Also, the opinions expressed in the articles are those of the contributors and are not the responsibility of the editorial team.

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